Chapter 21

Sorry for the delay, the story took a bit of a turn on me and I had to have a long conversation with a few of the characters and get them back in line. I think I wrangled them but as often happens these stories often have a mind of their own. Here is the (mostly) cleaned up version.

They backtracked quickly to their home. Once inside Robbie turned to Laura, "How about some tea?"

She nodded, "That would be nice. I'm going to grab a sweater. Can I get you anything?"

Robbie stroked her cheek gently, "No, get yourself warm. I'll bring the tea into the sitting room. Then you can tell me more." He saw the look of uncertainty on her face, "What if I promise to share a secret or two with you?"

She looked up at him, "You have secrets Robbie?"

He grinned at her, "There's only one way to find out Dr. Hobson."

She pushed up and kissed him lightly, "I look forward to it."

He watched her walk away relaxing for the first time in twenty four hours. Her admission the marriage had lasted longer than he'd thought had surprised him. He didn't care about the length of the marriage all he cared about was her. He set about making the tea thinking about the Laura he'd first met.

To him she had always seemed so open and carefree. Looking back he could see the cracks in her façade. When Val was still alive he'd known one or two of the men she had dated. They had always been aggressive bordering on obnoxious. Clearly she had a type. For a moment he wondered what she saw in him. He'd never been one of those guys. He shook his head trying to dispel the thought.

Laura stood staring at the shelves in her office. Robbie said he wanted to see her pictures but she wasn't sure she wanted to see them. It wasn't just the pictures of her life with Malcolm it was the life she had before Malcolm. Being taken by those twins had definitely scarred her but learning she was betrayed by one of her closest friends had damaged her even more.

She pulled her sweater tighter around her before reaching up to grab several boxes. She knew the 3 boxes she wanted. They didn't by any means represent all of her former life but they contained the best sampling. Setting the boxes on her desk she opened one and rifled through the pictures until she found the one she wanted.

Tears formed in her eyes and slid down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. She slipped the picture to the bottom of the box before replacing the lid. Picking up all three boxes she headed to the sitting room.

She settled on the sofa and placed the boxes next to her. She stacked them then restacked them. She hoped she could control the story by controlling the flow of the pictures. Would he just want to go through them on his own or would he want her to provide commentary? She wasn't sure she could do this.

With a deep breath she opened the top box. Her breath caught in her throat. The top photo was Ligeia and Peter. Her hand hovered over it but she couldn't bring herself to touch it. It was from their last year at university. She briefly wondered what had happened between them.

She knew James believe that Peter had assaulted Ligeia. She couldn't reconcile the thought with the Peter she had known. But perhaps with all of the evil those twins had wrought their conception had also started with an act of violence.

Whether it was a simple mistake or something more malevolent it had all lead to what happened to her. She couldn't forgive even as she had worked so hard to forget. Ligeia had unwittingly put her life in danger. She could forgive her for not sharing the confidence but she couldn't forgive the deception.

Her mind spiraled to the days after Ligeia's funeral. All of the lies had been revealed and she had reeled at the betrayal. When Robbie had shown up at the funeral she had hoped he would be her anchor. For a brief time he had been.

Robbie stood at the entrance to the sitting room holding the tea tray. He had been observing Laura for the last minute. He'd seen the tension in her body as she opened the box. Her hand still hovered over the top of it. He didn't want to startle her so he took a few steps back so he was out of sight before calling to her, "Laura, would you like a snack to go with your tea."

Laura lifted her head towards the doorway. Robbie's voice broke her memories stopping her from spiraling into the memories. She pressed her hands to her eyes wanting to wipe the memories away. She took a calming breath and smiled, "No, I'm good."

He rounded the corner and smiled at her before placing the tray on the table in front of her, "Too late, I put a few biscuits on because I think you need a snack."

This time the smile made it all the way to her eyes, "More like you wanted them."

He poured her tea then handed her the cup, "Perhaps but I am willing to share with you."

They settled into the cushions with the boxes between them. Laura couldn't help but think that the memories contained in those boxes might be a wall they couldn't scale, "Tell me a secret Robbie."

Yes, Robbie has a couple of secrets to share and we have a few surprise guests that will make an appearance.